A regulatory application for a major mid-Atlantic electric transmission line may be withdrawn because of flagging demand projections -- a result not only of the economic slump, but also of energy conservation.

"West Virginia regulators are going to stop processing surface mining permits that propose to dump waste rock and dirt into streams while they develop new guidelines that force coal operators to reduce water quality impacts downstream from valley fills."

"The U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Apache Nitrogen Products, Inc. entered into a $5 million consent decree to remove toxic nitrates and perchlorates from groundwater and to monitor the progress. at the Apache Powder Superfund Site, near David [Arizona]."

The current cold snap in some parts of the globe is making news -- but not generating many science stories about what is going on.

"An environmental group today announced plans to flood Senate offices with calls urging action on climate legislation."

"The tap water that Tampa residents consume is contaminated with low levels of antibiotics, nicotine byproducts and a chemical used to produce firefighting foams."

"Americans' infatuation with their cars has endured through booms and busts, but last year something rare happened in the United States: The number of automobiles actually fell."

"Patriot Coal will cut in half the length of streams buried by its Hobet 45 mountaintop-removal mine, but still produce nearly the same amount of coal as the company originally hoped, under a deal announced Tuesday by the Obama administration."

"U.S. EPA during the first year of the Obama administration saw deep declines in the amount of penalties assessed against polluters and pounds of pollution slashed through enforcement activities compared with the previous year, according to data released by the agency last month."

"California scientists have identified clusters of autism, largely in the Los Angeles and San Francisco areas, where children are twice as likely to have autism as children in surrounding areas. The 10 clusters were found mostly among children with highly educated parents, leading researchers to report that they probably can be explained by better access to medical experts who diagnose the disorder."

"Thirty–one proposed renewable energy and power transmission projects have been put on the fast track for approval by the Bureau of Land Management, with the aim of getting them paid for with stimulus funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act."

"Think, the Norwegian electric carmaker, said on Tuesday that it will open its first American assembly plant in Elkhart, Ind."

"Out of pride and a reluctance to point a finger at neighbors, ranchers in the vast Great Basin outback where Oregon, Idaho and Nevada come together have been slow to admit that someone in their midst, perhaps even someone they know from barbecues and brandings, has been stealing cattle. Just who is doing it, and how they have gotten away with it for at least three years, remains a mystery."

"Federal biologists on Tuesday proposed the first open ocean habitat protections for the endangered leatherback sea turtle along the West Coast, an action that could affect future development of offshore renewable energy, aquaculture and desalination plants."

After missing the last self-imposed deadline for cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay, mid-Atlantic governors say they are getting serious. Now EPA is taking over an effort the states have failed at.